Craig McInnes: Christy Clark’s claims on job creation invite derision

Manipulation of statistics shows B.C. No. 1 in Canada … briefly

Premier Christy Clark told Liberals last weekend that she’s going to pull the Liberals out of their persistent slump in opinion polls and win the next election on the strong economy, on being 'No. 1 in job creation.'

Photograph by: Postmedia News
, National Post

As reported by my colleague Jonathan Fowlie, the premier was explaining how she was going to win the next election with a platform built on a bold vision for the future and a record of being No. 1 in job creation in Canada.

Modest isn’t a word I have ever heard associated with Clark in the years I have followed her career. But recently her claims about the job creation record under her leadership have led journalists outside of B.C. to observe that even “immodest” doesn’t go far enough to explain her hyperbole on the subject.

Clark’s claims that B.C. has been the most productive generator of new jobs since she brought in her BC Jobs Plan in September of 2011 might have raised some eyebrows in other provinces on their own.

But packaging them as she did earlier this month with jabs at Alberta created an irresistible target.

To wit, from David Akin, an Ottawa journalist, on his blog: “Do Christy Clark’s boasts on job creation hold up? Nope. Nada. Not even close.”

And from Gary Lamphier, a columnist at the Edmonton Journal: “Christy Clark’s mystery jobs figure.”

Clark told Liberals on the weekend that she’s going to pull the Liberals out of their persistent slump in opinion polls and win the next election on the strong economy, on being “No. 1 in job creation.”

“We are No. 1 in this country, and it should be a real source of pride that even without that great natural resource, and valuable natural resource they call oil, we’re still doing better than everybody else,” she said. “That’s quite a challenge we’ve overcome.”

While as Lamphier says, there is a certain mystery to Clark’s job numbers, the claim emerged after the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey report for September, released Oct. 5.

On the same day, the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training issued a release titled, “B.C., first in Canada for job growth.” The release claimed 5,700 net new jobs in September and 57,400 net new jobs since the release of the B.C. Jobs Plan.

The 5,700 number was lifted straight from the StatsCan release. The same document, however, showed that on a year to year basis, B.C. only created 29,500 jobs in the previous 12 months. That was fifth in Canada as measured as a percentage increase and fourth based on the number of jobs. Alberta created 37,400 over the same period, more both as a percentage of the labour force and in absolute numbers.

So where did the 57,400 come from?

The government spin masters came up with it by going back to August of 2011, the month before the BC Jobs Plan was announced. So it’s larger to start with because it covers a period of 13 months, instead of just the previous year. But it also created a more flattering starting point.

Job numbers often shift up and down fairly dramatically from month to month, as the numbers released on Friday showed, with B.C. losing almost 11,000 jobs from the previous month. So the starting point matters in terms of how many jobs have been created. In September of 2011, the month the BC Jobs Plan was announced, StatsCan reported 21,000 more people were working than had been working the previous month. So starting in August rather than September paints a much rosier picture.

Comparing B.C. to Alberta using that 13 month period, B.C. was No. 1.

Going back to the first full month after Clark took over as premier, April of 2011, B.C. comes third with Alberta creating twice as many jobs as B.C.

And the October numbers released Friday showed B.C. losing almost 11,000 jobs, dropping us to third, using even the most best case dates. Since we are the third largest province, that should be considered just average.

British Columbia has been doing well relative to most of the country in creating jobs. Clark’s problem is that she invites ridicule by boasting of achievements based on fun with figures.

Premier Christy Clark told Liberals last weekend that she’s going to pull the Liberals out of their persistent slump in opinion polls and win the next election on the strong economy, on being 'No. 1 in job creation.'

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